SOUNDPOST

LETTER of the MONTH

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 2

PHOTOS MICHAEL DIESTELHORST

A CLOSER LOOK

I write regarding The Strad’s recent online article ( bitly.ws/3gK6D ) showcasing images by photographer Charles Brooks taken inside fine old Italian instruments, using medical equipment primarily used for endoscopies.

With this technique it is immediately possible to view all the tiny scars and patches resulting from restoration over the past centuries. Secondly, the image of the 1705 Gofriller cello shows a crack in the middle of the bass-bar. This means the instrument does not need to be unstrung: good for the cellist as they won’t need to risk changing their set-up.

This method is less simple for violins and violas, as there is no endpin to be removed. But there is another easy way to look inside the smaller instruments. In figure 1 above, a violin maker has inserted this pinhole at the bottom-block. It is smart, inexpensive, very effective and can easily be used by a photographer. Figure 2 shows one of the resulting images.

MICHAEL DIESTELHORST Cologne, Germany

GET UP, STAND UP

I would like to take issue with the article about Joshua Bell (‘Everybody’s playing like their life depends upon it’, April 2024) and ‘The Improvised Concerto’ (‘Straight from the heart’, April 2024). Both contain a lot of negative comments about orchestral musicians. They paint a picture of ‘disillusioned rank-and-file players’ who are ‘weighed down by the repetitive habits that sully even great orchestras’; the ‘feeling of cynicism or laziness that is so common in bigger orchestras’ (all from the Bell feature). Then the second article has statements like ‘we lose our confidence as orchestral players… [because] the conductor tells you what to do… you lose your capacity for actual expression’, and ‘as long as you can play your orchestral excerpts really fast and they’re technically perfect, then you’re good to go.’

Furthermore, both articles suggest that big orchestras can’t play like chamber musicians and don’t play as if their lives depend on it. While these statements may have been true decades ago, these days the situation is very different (at least in my experience with the Philharmonia Orchestra) and I strongly object to the way the old clichés are still being put out there! Perhaps Joshua Bell would like to come back to the Philharmonia to play–direct a violin concerto? I am sure he would quickly reassess his opinions about bigger orchestras!

KARIN TILCH London, UK

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

I have been thinking about Christian Bayon’s article ‘Stronger Together’ (Making Matters, February 2024). He says: ‘Some restorers have fitted some dramatic V-shaped patches over the top- and bottom-blocks, killing the sound without any chance of recovery.’ The last paragraph says he has experimented with a carbon-fibre rod between the top- and bottom-blocks (above right) with disastrous results to the sound quality. It appears that both of these methods would certainly constrain the longitudinal compression against the top plate of the violin due to string tension.

So, is the longitudinal compression against the top plate (and likely opposite longitudinal tension on the back plate) a contributing factor in sound production? We know that a major transmitter in passing vibration from the strings to the top plate is the rocking action of the bridge, as the strings vibrate ‘back and forth’, causing the plates to vibrate left to right on the central longitudinal (vertical) axis. But in addition, wouldn’t there exist a change in the compression and tension of the plates longitudinally from the slight tightening and loosening of the string tension as the string vibrates from its fully deflected (tightened) state to its

straightened (loosened) state? Although we know that string vibration is more complex than this, the principle still holds. Wouldn’t this tightening and loosening of string tension result in a longitudinal rocking action of the fingerboard/neck heel/top block assembly causing tension and compression against the plates? And wouldn’t the bridge also rock forward and backward slightly in conjunction with string tightening and loosening and follow the plate movement?

Perhaps the old masters knew that the extreme longitudinal compression against the top plate was necessary to produce the desired sound and that stringed instruments that were subjected to harsh treatment and extreme weather conditions would simply fail as a trade-off for good sound.

JIMBO LEACH Auburn, AL, US

INSTRUMENT PHOTO CHRISTIAN BAYON.

WHITE PHOTO DARIO ACOSTA

ONLINE COMMENT

In April 2024’s Opinion, Alexandra Gorski shared her insights into the underrated skills of playing at the back of an orchestral section. Our readers had differing opinions bitly.ws/3gK8J SIMON SMITH It is so much harder at distance to know how loud to play, to guess where in the bow those in front of you will be, to actually come in confidently yet not stand out.

ADRIAN CHARLESWORTH It’s important to feel valued wherever you sit. The sadness and inaccuracy of the phrase ‘playing second fiddle’ have not been eradicated.

JULIUS BANNISTER I have played in every chair – it’s not a big issue if you are a professional.

---A NOTE ON AI CITATIONS

In the past few months, The Strad has received a number of messages from researchers asking for information about fictitious articles from its archives. In each instance, the writer used AI software such as ChatGPT, Bard and Gemini, which gave in its output a reference similar to the below: Schelleng, J.C. (1989). The bow as a third-class lever. The Strad, vol.100 (1190), 1000-1002.

We would like readers to be aware that using AI software in this manner is likely to generate incorrect results, and that careful study of The Strad’s print editions remains the best way to use its archives. Subscribers should also know that digital access to all the magazine’s editions back to January 2010 is included in their subscription.

In the April 2024 Masterclass, the information on Gary Hoffman at the bottom of page 72 should have read as follows: Nationality: Canadian–American. Studied with: Karl Fruh, János Starker. Records for: La Dolce Volta